Background Yemen is currently facing a cholera epidemic of unprecedented scale and on May 14, 2017, the Yemen Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) in Sana a officially declared a state of emergency. According to WHO, there have already been over 396,000 suspected cases as of 25 July and the disease has spread to nearly every governorate. The outbreak is taking place against the backdrop of a major humanitarian crisis, with less than 45 per cent of all health facilities fully functional, people lacking access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and acute food insecurity and malnutrition across the region. The number of people in need of assistance is now 20.7 million. This large increase from the previous figure of 18.8 million is largely attributed to the cholera outbreak. Source: OCHA, July 16 The ongoing conflict in Yemen makes access extremely difficult both for humanitarian staff and relief goods. As the cholera outbreak adds to the scale of the response, the Logistics Cluster is in the process of augmenting its capacity to ensure the additional logistics requirements can be met quickly and efficiently. CERF funds have already been allocated for Logistics Cluster support to the cholera response and a budget revision has been requested for Special Operation 200841 to meet the new requirements. Partner organisations have been asked to share their pipeline information, in particular for cold chain and temperature controlled items, to ensure that the logistics response is tailored to meet partners needs. Objectives Based on the needs expressed and identified by partners, the Logistics Cluster aims to facilitate access to sufficient and reliable logistics services, coordination, and operationally relevant information to ensure a timely and uninterrupted supply of life-saving relief items to affected populations. Cholera Response Plan Many of the following actions are already underway and further initiatives can be added according to expressed need and budget availability. 1. Logistics Coordination To minimise duplication of efforts and competition by the humanitarian community, the Logistics Cluster is organising regular coordination meetings in Sana a, Aden and Djibouti, to evaluate needs and logistics gaps to be filled.
Coordination with other clusters, agencies and humanitarian organisations has been established, including regular participation in Inter-Cluster Coordination Meetings (ICCM); The Logistics Cluster is liaising with OCHA and the main humanitarian actors to establish a clear picture of what cholera items are in the pipeline to ensure that all requests for transport, storage and other facilitation can be met. The Logistics Cluster in Sana a is working to establish a Logistics Working Group on cholera, comprised of the heads of supply chain and logistics managers from the main service users and the most active organisations in Yemen. The objective would be to establish an overview of upstream pipeline for cholera items, coordinate on bottlenecks, and identify gaps. To ensure access, the Logistics Cluster will continue to strengthen its cooperation with OCHA and the Access Monitoring Group to ensure logistics constraints are taken into account when access is negotiated and discussed, and to further disseminate the relevant access information among its participants. The Logistics Cluster will continue to advocate to maintain the main corridors and supply routes open and operational. 2. Information Management: to support operational decision-making to improve the efficiency of the logistics response, a dedicated Information Management Officer (IMO) is based in Djibouti to: Consolidate and share updated operational information, including Meeting Minutes, Operational Overviews, Situation Updates, UNHAS flights and sea passenger schedules, forms, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); Maintain information sharing platforms including a common mailing list and a dedicated operation webpage on the Logistics Cluster website to disseminate relevant and up-to date logistics information to the humanitarian community: www.logcluster.org/ops/yem10a Produce and share logistics infrastructure Geographic Information Systems/mapping tools and products. 3. Logistics Services The services made available by the Logistics Cluster are not intended to replace the logistics capacities of organisations, but rather to support the humanitarian community through common services. Cholera supplies will be prioritized based on the agreement between Clusters through the Inter-Cluster Coordination mechanism. All cargo transport through the Logistics Cluster remains free to user.
Airlifts In response to the cholera outbreak, the Logistics Cluster has carried out three dedicated cargo flights from Djibouti to Sana a between end June and mid-july. Further requests to airlift relief items via air to Sana a for the cholera response have already been received. To meet requirements, and in addition to the regular airlifts, WFP on behalf of the Logistics Cluster will be providing an airbridge for an initial period of one month with a dedicated cargo aircraft based in Djibouti to provide rotations between Djibouti and Sana a as of the end of July; the time frame could be extended depending on available funds. Capacity will be sufficient to airlift an estimated total of 180 mt of cholera cargo destined for Yemen. Light cargo transport can be facilitated on board the UNHAS passenger flights from Djibouti into Aden and Sana a. Sea cargo transport For sea transport from Djibouti to Aden port, the Logistics Cluster shares space availability on a WFP chartered vessel, the VOS Apollo, that operates on a weekly rotation. A refrigerated container to provide cold chain will be established on board the VOS Apollo on a short-term basis (4-6 months). The provision of a second reefer container on the VOS Apollo is planned to add temperature controlled cargo capacity. A contract is in place for a dhow with 400-500 m3 capacity that can transport bulk cargo into Hodeida should this be required. Guidance and assistance is provided to organisations with regards to requesting clearance for chartered vessels into Yemen. Overland Transport Based on organisations needs and contingent on security and road conditions, access to road transport is being facilitated on WFP-contracted vehicles. In order to fast-track the cholera response, the Logistics Cluster has positioned five reefer trucks in Sana a on stand-by. These can accept cold chain and temperature cargo for transport as well as regular cargo. Additional capacity can be made available in both Aden and Sana a if required. Organisations have been invited to contact the Logistics Cluster to communicate their logistics needs and establish a plan. The Logistics Cluster will regularly update the Access Constraints map, and plan overland transport accordingly.
Common Storage To support temporary storage of humanitarian cargo, the Logistics Cluster facilitates access to the following facilities: Aden: 5,740 m 2 ; Sana a: 320 m 2 ; Hodeidah: 3,640 m 2. Due to an increase in demand stemming from the cholera response, WFP has contracted a 5,100 m 2 warehouse compound in Aden. This new storage space, alongside a 3,000 m2 warehouse in Hodeidah previously contracted, are operational and available for use to partners. An additional MSU will be established in Sana a to increase capacity to 640 m2. Based on requirements from partner organisations, the Logistics Cluster can potentially scale up with the provision of mobile refrigerated containers for short term use in Aden until longer term solutions can be established. Organisations can also be allotted space for their own reefer containers. Commercial capacity for climate controlled and cold chain storage in Djibouti is considered sufficient to meet all current and projected needs. Where applicable and contingent on access, WFP will bilaterally provide humanitarian organisations additional Mobile Storage Units (MSUs) to further augment their storage capacity upon request. A warehouse training course is being provided in Sana a to build capacity. This course will cover both installation of MSUs and warehouse management. Fuel Provision Service To enable organisations responding to the crisis to establish an uninterrupted supply chain, a contingency stock of fuel is maintained for partners operating in Yemen and distributed in Aden, Sana a, and Hodeidah. Fuel is procured locally. Should this not be feasible at some point, it will then be done internationally with the support of WFP Procurement Unit. This service is provided on a cost recovery basis. Sea Passenger Service Due to the low capacity of commercial passenger transport to Aden via air, the Logistics Cluster will continue to facilitate access to passenger transport on board a WFP-chartered vessel which operates on a regular weekly schedule between Djibouti and Aden. The vessel also serves as an emergency rescue and evacuation vessel for humanitarian staff. This service will continue for as long as needs and funding allow.
Unsolicited Bilateral Donations A guide is being prepared to assist organisations facing an influx of unsolicited bilateral donations (UBDs), which can use up already scarce resources and pose a multitude of logistics issues. The Logistics Cluster will remain available to provide guidance on UBD cargo to all partners. http://www.logcluster.org/document/guidelinesunsolicited-bilateral-donations-ubds Surge Capacity and Business Continuity The current staffing setup to support the Cholera response include: o Sana a: Logistics Cluster Coordinator and three Logistics Assistants based in Sana a, including a RITA cargo tracking officer. o Aden: Deputy Logistics Cluster Coordinator based in Aden with regular travel to Djibouti to support. o Djibouti: Deputy Logistics Cluster Coordinator, Logistics Officer (Air operations), Information Management officer (to relocate to Sana a if feasible), Funds Manager, Logistics Assistant. In case of an evacuation of international staff out of Yemen, the Logistics Cluster will work in close collaboration with WFP management to ensure business continuity through delegation of authority to national staff in Sana a and elsewhere in Yemen as needed. In such an event, the operation will then be remotely managed from Djibouti until the situation stabilises. As Provider of Last Resort (PoLR) WFP, through the Logistics Cluster, is responsible only to provide logistics services that fill identified gaps in logistics capacity, where access and funding permit and where these gaps limit the ability of the humanitarian community to meet the needs of the affected population.
Annex I - ConOps Map